Clarkson University President Tony Collins has announced that Alexander Cohen has been promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Political Science on the Teaching Track in the School of Arts & Sciences.
Cohen came to Clarkson in 2019. He previously served as assistant professor, program chair, and associate dean at Ashford University. At Augustana College, he served as visiting assistant professor and manager of the Upper Mississippi Center for Sustainability. He also co-founded and acted as a founding director for the nonprofit Live Lead Free Quad Cities, an organization dedicated to eliminating lead poisoning in the Quad Cities region of Illinois.
Cohen's research interests include the role of gender in the profession, the effect of weather patterns on public opinion, and the pedagogy of active learning and teaching through gaming. He teaches about political science and conspiracy, and serves as the Associate Director of Faculty Support as well as Chair of the Faculty Senate.
He is the co-author of two books: Gaming the System: Nine Games to Teach American Government through Active Learning and Living with Zombies: Society in Apocalypse in Film, Literature, and Other Media, which explores the impact of zombies on popular culture and what this means during the Anthropocene
He has also published in PS: Political Science and Politics, Journal of Political Science Education, The Journal of Excellence in College Teaching, Midwest Quarterly, Field Methods, Modern Language Studies, and The Social Science Journal, among other publications, academic presentations and invited talks. His contributions to the online scholarly forum have been read by almost a million users and has been quoted as an expert in The New York Times and TIME Magazine.
He received his Ph.D. and master of arts degrees in political science from the University of Iowa and his bachelor of arts in history and politics from New York University.
